How are Your Team’s Crowds in 2016?

Its been a great year for the league. It can be argued that most of the footy has been great, and a sprinkling of controversies has kept the game in the news.

Something yet to be discussed in the media is the fact that to the surprise of many, the league’s overall attendances are up on aggregate as well as average, despite the poor fortunes of the so-called ‘Big 4’.

Its been conventional wisdom – particularly in Victoria – that the AFL’s attendances are connected in some way to the fortunes of the old “Big 4” – Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon and Richmond – helped along by their almost guaranteed blockbuster fixtures. In 2016, all four of these sides are having less than stellar years.

Collingwood are still the league leaders despite being 15th on the ladder, while Carlton crowds are down 23% on the same time last year, mostly owing to their slow start to the year. Richmond’s 27% drop in crowds probably reflects current form, while Essendon’s 31% drop in crowds is relatively self explanatory. The drop in each others crowds can also be explained by the annual reversal of early home derby matches – which also explains Collingwood’s increase.

The switch in early home games, also explains Geelong’s 38% increase – mostly driven by the round one fixture rotation between Hawthorn and Geelong.

Meanwhile at the traditionally “smaller” clubs – Melbourne’s crowds are up 20% reflecting a renewed optimism in the club’s fortunes and a more competitive approach to the game, while North are benefitting from a stint at the top of the ladder with a 19% increase. The Bulldogs are the seasons big winners with average crowds up 55% on the same time last year – adding more than 11,000 spectators PER GAME on average. It might be more suprising to the observer to note a 36% rise in St Kilda attendances – probably helped by not playing a game in front of half a dozen people in Wellington in the first half of the season.

Hawthorn’s drop in attendances is mostly due to a 20% drop in Victoria, but mostly due to not staging the round one clash against Geelong.

Interstate, the Crows (up 6%) continue their good range of attendances, while the Power’s crowds probably reflect the downturn in fortunes with a 9% drop in average attendances – but still getting over 40,000 a game.

In New South Wales, the Swans are seeing an 8% upturn in crowds, while the Giants are up 38% on the same time last year, a fact which should please the AFL no end.

In Queensland, the apparent source of all the league’s ills if you believe modern media reports, the Lions crowds are down 11%, while Gold Coast are experiencing a 6% drop off.

The Western Australian clubs are about where you would expect, with Fremantle down to just over 30,000, facing an 18% drop in its home crowds – not helped by the odd match being affected by inclement weather. West Coasts crowds are up 7% to over 37,000.

South Australia remains top of the crowd averages for all matches played, dipping 1.3% to 44,600 in 2016 against the same time last year.

In line with the North and Dogs resurgence, the fortunes of the much maligned Etihad Stadium have risen as well with this seasons crowds up 14.2%, while at the MCG Crowds are down, slightly affected by the smaller than usual crowds for some blockbuster events and the lack of form of Essendon, Richmond and Carlton in particular. Over at Kardinia Park, the Cats faithful have dropped off a little, down 2.2% but overall Victorian attendances hold steady at just over 39,000 per game.

Attendances in New South Wales are up 12%, including a 33% increase in crowds on the same time last year at Spotless Stadium. This is also shown at StarTrack Oval in Canberra, where the Giants crowds are 50% higher than the same time last year.

Tasmanian crowds are up 5.45% including an 8% lift at Aurora Stadium – putting to bed the often repeated Bigfooty myth that crowds are dropping off there, while attendances at Bellerive are up 3% including a record crowd in round 6.

West Australian games hold stready, up nearly 4% despite Fremantle’s form.

The AFL’s attendances havent suffered for having a lower turnout for some of the larger Victorian clubs, that downturn has been more than balanced by the rise of the Demons, North and the Bulldogs. At this stage it would seem its still form that dictates the number of people that turn out to a game, although the minor alterations to the fixture that give some clubs primetime exposure where they might have lacked may have also played a part.

The MCG remains the pre-eminent sporting ground in so far as stadium attendances are concerned, but Adelaide Oval remains right up there, with South Australia having the best attendance average overall, and Canberra experiencing the biggest percentage increase to date.